


The Ghosts in the Shadows

by BAKIBAKI



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: ATEEZ (Band) Are Pirates, Affection, Angst and Humor, Betrayal, Blood and Violence, Brotherly Bonding, Dark Ateez, Disrepected Captain Hongjoong, Fake chases Real, Gen, Jongho tries not to kill his hyungs, Mingi being the clumsy one, Real Ateez vs Fake Ateez, Sailing, Self-Discovery, Self-Esteem Issues, Seonghwa secretly handles everything, Treasure Era, Trust Issues, Wooyoung struggles, Yeosang being the supportive friend, Yunho jokes about everything, alternative universe - pirate, but also a crazy person, inspired by the MV's, san is a baby
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-28
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:14:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22453243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BAKIBAKI/pseuds/BAKIBAKI
Summary: Escaped the hot desert, they finally found themselves resting on the deck of their new ship.The sun touched the horizon, letting the sky shine in soft colours of blue, purple, pink and orange.Hongjoong stared into nothing, resting his arms and head on the steering wheel.But after minutes of peace in which the ship dipped gently from side to side, Hongjoong noticed something in the distant. He looked closer and the shape grew clearer.He straightened himself, eyes narrowed.It was a ship. Jet black with torn sails and trailed by thick black mist.Hongjoong's throat went dry.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16





	1. chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> First up I'm very happy to have the opportunity to share my story with others~  
> It's my first story I publish here and also the first story I write with all my passion!
> 
> If there are spelling mistakes I'm sorry but English gives me a hard time once in a while.
> 
> But now... please enjoy~<3

Oh hello there~  
I didn't noticed you please let me introduce myself.  
I am the protector and storyteller of this book who's name doesn't matter.  
So when you are already here let me tell you a story.  
A story of the journey of eight young boys on their way to find their treasure.  
What is their treasure you ask?  
I'm truly sorry but I can't tell you yet.  
If those eight boys will find their treasure and achieve their goals...is still unknown.  
So let's start our journey and follow them till the very end.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Our story begins with a boy who has done a lot in his short life. A boy who is full of regrets, desperation and grief but also with a little piece of hope. A boy who is rather short for his age but still has the knowledge of a grown adult. A boy who is in his peak of maturity.  
A boy who is called Kim Hongjoong.

Kim Hongjoong was in his early twenties. But what made him so special for the beginning of our story? It was the situation with which he needed to deal.  
He was in prison.  
He didn't know how he ended up in here but one thing he knew. The name. KQ was a rather small prison near the beautiful ocean.  
The exact location, unknown. Hongjoong didn't know why he was here in the first place. It had to be something big which brought him here but he just couldn't recall it....

His cell was quiet like most of the time. He only heard his own breathing which slowly drove him to the edge of losing his sanity. He didn't know how long he was waiting for a relief, waiting for somebody to come in and give him some company.  
Deep down he felt like nothing will change for his benefits. All this time in which he stuck in this prison nobody got thrown into his cell which is quite odd because he heard rumours that KQ was overcrowded.  
He always asked himself what he did to deserve such treatment. Isolated by everyone, in one small room just by himself and his mind.  
How long was he in prison? He stopped counting. Did he know for how long he will be in here? No, he didn't.

But the real question was...  
Will somebody come and save him before he loses this little piece of hope which is buried deep inside of him?

What Hongjoong didn't know is that his life would take a turn just the very next day.

Hongjoong woke up from the light which fell through the small window right into his face. He groaned in discomfort, squeezed his eyes shut and tried to ease the blinding light by holding his hand in front of his face. His black hair a tousled mess evidence for his rough night he had before.  
His night was as always plagued by the noises which came from outside of his cell.  
In his first few days when he came into this prison the screams of the other inmates were the worst for him. They followed him through every second but now...even though he still heard them clearly he tried his best to ignore them. But during nights those screams still terrified him.  
Hongjoong blinked a few times adjusting his eyes to the light before he turned his arching body to the side and slowly sat up. He looked already exhausted even though the day just had started.  
He looked around the room. Nothing changed.  
Sometimes he hoped that over night something in this small room would change just to give him something new to look at. But it still was the same small and empty room with two beds on each side(one of them obviously useless), a big metal door, a toilet in one corner right next to it a sink and the small window above everything which blew the cold salty air from the ocean into the small room.  
The window was the only thing that connected him with the outside world. It was the only thing that gave him some freedom and hope.  
He let his head hang low and closed his eyes before he looked at the small clock above the door.  
>It's still to early for foodWho the hell is he? Where did he come from? Why so suddenly in the morning?< Hongjoong asked himself with a deep frown. 

The boy looked around the room with a softer but questioning gaze. He gave Hongjoong the time to study his features.  
>His face is quite interesting< Hongjoong thought to himself looking at the boy with slightly interest in his eyes.  
The first thing he noticed are the pair of deep brown eyes which tried to look intimidating but still kept a certain softness. Eyes which are open and bigger then usual. Eyes that showed every emotion it's owner had even though he tried not to show them. His lips are plump but not to much. Lips that could turn into a tender smile and show beautiful white teeth. They have the colour of a fresh picked peach that you just want to eat and enjoy.  
A beautiful nose which complemented his strong cheekbones. Dark and thick eyebrows which framed his eyes in a perfect way.  
A strong jawline which gave him a manly appearance.  
Short messy black hair which was still tousled from his not so pleasant arrival. And a healthy skin tone which was not pale but not to toned either.

Overall he represented a quite handsome young boy.

Hongjoong watched how the boy wiped his tears away and stood up just to stand on a pair of wobbly legs which barely held him upright.  
Hongjoong eyed the boy from top to bottom. He had an average height, a slim figure but not to slim. Muscles but not to much muscles.

Compared to the young boy in front of him Hongjoong was the total opposite.  
His face was sharp and slimmer. His eyes were also dark brown but sharper and smaller. His lips were not full but they look soft and tender with a beautiful pinkish tone. His nose small and pointy but still perfectly fitting to his face. His eyebrows were dark and complimented his black hair and his own face very well.  
But Hongjoong was also way shorter then the boy who slowly moved to the other bed to sit on it and just calmed himself down.

[You may ask yourself 'who this this boy?' Right? Well let me give you his name. Seonghwa.  
Please remember his name because he will be from great importance for our journey.]

Seonghwa came from another sector.  
He wasn't long in this prison, barely a week. Once he saw the gates of the prison he knew that he wouldn't leave this place in the next future.  
He was scared, terrified you could say. Everything went to fast for him. From him passing the gates, being registered, going through the narrow halls to being shoved into a small cell with several other people. He couldn't cope with his situation. Didn't know what to do. His head hurt a lot, his hands were shaky and back then he tried to hide himself behind the others. Tried to calm himself,tried to not show any of his emotions to his fellow inmates. 

But he failed.

Everyone in the cell knew that he was weak.  
He was to kind-hearted, to soft.  
And even if it was just a short period of time Seonghwa ended up being the rag doll.  
If never went to far but they made fun of him without any reason. Beat him once in a while.  
At the end of the week before he was transported to the other cell where Hongjoong was waiting for him without him even knowing that Seonghwa would come to him, Seonghwa was just a small little ball curled up into a corner hoping that everybody would leave him alone. When the jailor came to pick him up he thought that maybe...just maybe he had the chance to be free again. But life wanted to play different.  
So when he knew that he wouldn't go out he started to protest but the jailor didn't mind at all. He cried with pure panic because he didn't know where he is gonna be taken. When they arrived at this big metal door he knew that fate did him dirty. 

His body was numb.

The only thing that he felt was the rough impact of his body hitting the cold floor of the cell. The only thing he noticed seconds later was how quiet the room was. For a split second he thought that he was alone but then he felt the present of someone else.

And when he made eye contact with the person he didn't want the other to know how scared he was....

And now Seonghwa was sitting on one of the beds in a total quiet room with another person who stared at him. Someone he didn't know.  
And again he didn't know what to do.

After this week in a crowded cell as the reg doll of the others Seonghwa was overwhelmed by the sudden quietness of the room. He could hear his own whimpering and the breathing of his fellow inmate. After he sat down he didn't dare to look at Hongjoong even once. But he knew that the eyes of him still layed on him and it made Seonghwa stiff and uncomfortable.

No one of them moved to scared to do something wrong even though there was nothing to be worried about.  
Hongjoong's stare softens as he looked at Seonghwa's helpless expression.  
Hongjoong still didn't know what to do but he knew that being quiet wasn't an option. Furthermore did this ongoing and awkward silence slowly suffocated him.  
After minutes which felt like hours, Hongjoong was the first one who spoke up.  
"You're Ok?" He asked quiet, calm and careful. He didn't know what else he should have said. Hongjoong gaze never left Seonghwa's face searching for a reaction.  
Seonghwa shifted and looked at Hongjoong but not meeting his stare again. He simply nodded with still teary eyes.  
Hongjoong understood after a few seconds that looking at his fellow inmate made this situation even more awkward so he let his gaze stray away from Seonghwa.  
Hongjoong tried to collect the right words in his mind before he started to talk again. "You're sure? I mean your arrival wasn't that pleasant and you doesn't look that good either..." he spoke in a still calm voice, testing carefully what he could say.

And finally Seonghwa looked at Hongjoong.

"I'm...I'm Ok.." Seonghwa said with a shaky voice and finally let his frame go soft. He felt some kind of relief even though it wasn't big.  
And again silence fell over the two of them. Hongjoong thought about what to say next, Seonghwa eyed Hongjoong. Judging him again.  
Seonghwa didn't know what he should think about him but deep down he appreciated that Hongjoong did the first step. Slowly his whimpers started to get less and Seonghwa wiped the rest of his tears from his sore and puffy eyes. He took a deep breath before he heard Hongjoong's voice again.  
"To be honest I don't know what to say...You're the first person in..I don't know how long to enter this room..." Hongjoong met Seonghwa's stare "I didn't thought that somebody would ever get thrown on here as well.." he couldn't find the right words and now Hongjoong sat on his bed with his gaze locked with Seonghwa's who waited patiently for him to continue. It was the first time that Hongjoong had his full attention.  
"I don't know what you did and I actually don't care but you look so done with everything right now...let's just try to get along with each other" he said with confident.  
The only reaction he got from Seonghwa was a big frown and a barely noticeable nod.  
Seonghwa teared his gaze away from Hongjoong and looked around the room before he let his head hang low.  
Hongjoong closed his eyes and sighs silently. He didn't want to stress his inmate right now but he thought that maybe at least he could talk to him to at least make things clear.  
>this is going to be hard...what if this guy's gonna be a pain in the ass? What if he behaves like a total idiot?..what should I do?<

Usually Hongjoong was used to silence but he never thought that silence could be this uncomfortable.  
But what he didn't know was that Seonghwa truly enjoyed this silence.

It was the first time in a week that he could calm down probably and he would take all the time he needed to do so. He didn't misheard Hongjoong's offer but Seonghwa just wanted to be left alone for the time being. 

Seonghwa would come back to his offer when he was ready.

Time went by rather slow. Both of them hungry and both of them could hear the stomach of their fellow inmate grumble dangerously. Nobody of them talked but the silence finally ends with am uncomfortable sound of the door opening. Both, Hongjoong's and Seonghwa's, head snapped towards the door which was now fully open and showed the same jailor who threw Seonghwa in the cell a few hours ago.

Behind him another one.

A much younger one. Maybe even younger then Hongjoong and Seonghwa themselves. Both of them exchanged a quick gaze before getting up from their beds and slowly walking towards the door. Hongjoong still exhausted from the night let out a groan when the older jailor shoved him roughly forward out of the cell into the chilly hallway. Seonghwa followed close behind with the young jailor trailing behind him. 

The hallway was illuminated by dull and overall poor lights which made the whole hallway look even darker then it already was. The walls grey and wretched with several stains of blood and other liquids which may were even older then the time Hongjoong was imprisoned.

All four of them walked towards another door made out of metal bars. All of them came to a hold while the older jailor typed in a code on the little touchscreen right at the door. Hongjoong already knew how many numbers the jailor typed away and he also knew that the jailor didn't gave any shit if he saw it or not. The jailor was to confident with the fact that even if the inmates knew all the codes breaking out of the prison would still be impossible.

And indeed it wasn't easy to do exactly this.  
It was small, had a huge lack of space, a huge lack in personal and a huge lack of privacy but after all it still was a prison.

Hongjoong glanced over his shoulder to look at the other two behind him.

And again he locked eyes with his fellow inmate. He looked into a pair of overwhelmed, unsettled and scared eyes, eyebrows slightly scrunched together.  
In some kind of way Hongjoong felt pity towards him. He could understand why he was so scared and why he was so confused.  
Maybe giving him some time wasn't a bad idea.  
Hongjoong looked at the younger jailor eyeing him from head to toe. He wasn't sure if he ever saw that guy.

His face looked intimidating, scary you could say. He wasn't taller then his inmate but his build was different.  
Compared to Hongjoong and Seonghwa the young jailor's shoulders were broader which also where emphasized by the uniform he needed to wear.  
His face had a pair of round hazelnut brown eyes which had a dark shimmer, narrowed in a serious way. His dark brown hair peaked through his hat which matched his uniform. Cheekbones which were connected to puffy cheeks evidence for his healthy and well-fed body.  
Hongjoong already knew messing with him wouldn't be a good idea. He had the feeling if one of them annoyed him he could easy snap his or the neck of his fellow inmate. And maybe not just the neck. 

Hongjoong turned around by the sound of the door. The older jailor pushed Hongjoong through the doorframe holding him tightly at the upperarm.  
Hongjoong and Seonghwa were dragged farther through the halls. The tension rose with every step all four of them took. Body stiffens, approaching the area the noises came from. And then Hongjoong knew what was going on.  
He didn't noticed how time went by, he didn't really noticed how his own stomach arched caused by its emptiness.

It was time for breakfast.

He took a quick gaze over his shoulder watching Seonghwa shrunk together as the noises grew louder. Hongjoong thought he looked smaller hunched over, eyes glued to the ground.

Eating hours were the worst in KQ. Sure it was the only time, besides the time you could spent outside on the field, to have proper social infractions, but after one incident a few months ago, Hongjoong actively avoided any social interactions with other inmates. He directly took his food, sits down on the same place every day as always. A place far at the back, vanishes from the view of others.

And today wouldn't be different

He entered the area, got in line for food and then Hongjoong and Seonghwa parted. Hongjoong sat down on his usual spot while Seonghwa was at the very opposite of the room, eating quietly hunched up in a corner on the floor.

The food was blunt, boring and it had no taste to it. It wasn't like the food they showed on TV. No. It was worse.  
It was mushy, soggy or so hard you couldn't even bite or swallow it.  
The water he got along with the food was milky and a little bit to thick to think it was water. 

It tasted just wrong.

But Hongjoong got used to it. Because what should be do? Starving? He just dealt with it. Imagined the food would be something delicious.

Breakfast went by quietly. Nobody threw a fit about the food, nobody provoked the jailor which watched them carefully from above.  
It was peaceful, to peaceful and as Hongjoong was half-way through his blunt, tasteless meal, he suddenly heard a high pitched scream. His head jerked away from his plate looking in the direction the scream came from. He stopped chewing his food, observing the scene with narrowed eyes.  
He wasn't sure what was going on but he saw a bunch of guys huddling above each other.

Curiosity rose inside of him and with that Hongjoong stood up just to have a better view on what made those awful noises. From the corner of his eye he saw Seonghwa doing the same.

The noises grew louder, the air tickend, fists flying towards an unknown source. White knuckles slowly tainted with a deep, rich red. Hongjoong stood still not even moving a muscle before he heard the alarm painfully loud in his ears. He squeezed his eyes shut and held his hands over his ears, trying to damp the sound.

"All of you... hands over your heads and on the fucking ground!"

The voice came seconds after the alarm went off. And with that Hongjoong so as his fellow inmates slowly sunk to the ground, shaky hands placed onto the back of his head. He risked a gaze over to where Seonghwa was standing, slowly lowering himself quietly obeyed to the order.  
Chest pressed uncomfortably against the cold cement floor, elbows resting besides his head. Hongjoong let his gaze wander above the ground, curiously staring at the spot where the men who were fighting just seconds ago, lay on the ground with him.

He saw how several jailor came rushing towards them, shoes heavy on the ground. The men were roughly grabbed, handcuffed and escorted to one of the doors which led back to one of the sectors. 

Finally Hongjoong saw the source of the deep red colour. Beneath all the men which were escorted lay a boy.

Blood tainted his now torn shirt which usually had a dark blue colour and came along with the same coloured slacks.  
Everyone needed to wear it.

From where Hongjoong lay on the floor the boy just looked like a small ball, hands tightly wrapped around his head preventing from further attacks. His knees right at his chest, shaking uncontrollably. Hongjoong's thoughts were cut off when a jailor rushed in helping the boy stand up and leading him away from the area through another door. 

Leaving the large room in silence with a thick trail of blood which led to the door the boy and the jailor just exited.

The tension was suffocating. Nobody dared to move, Nobody even breathed loud. 

Another alarm went off. A short one, not as painful as the first one, signalling they could get up again and eat their meal quickly.  
It took some time for all of them to get up again, hands lowered onto the ground, heads slowly rising looking careful around the room.  
Hongjoong lowered his arms, taking a deep breath to calm down his beating heart, feeling it pound against his throat and chest before rising up fully and slowly sitting back on his spot.

His hands still shook from the sudden scene.

Small beatings like this one weren't a big deal. But still terrifying because nobody knew what the jailor thought in this very moment. Sometimes it went by quick and smoothly like now but sometimes inmates were punished even if they didn't do anything, got yelled at or beaten by them as well.  
Deep down Hongjoong was glad that it wasn't one of the bad outcomes today.

Hongjoong had a feeling of uneasiness deep inside his stomach and not just because he didn't finished his meal yet.

No.

Because he had a feeling something would happen. Not yet, not tomorrow but maybe the next days.  
His guts never played games with him but he just didn't like the feeling.  
It was a damp, pressured feeling which creeped up from his belly, to his chest and right into his throat. Hongjoong shook his head getting all the thoughts out of his head before taking a spoonful of his mushy meal and stuffed his mouth full, chewing thickly.

Seonghwa at the other hand was a shaky mess. He was so confused when he heard the painful signal ringing in his ears. At first he didn't know what happen. He let his plate fall from his lap as he stood up, mind torn from his food, gaze glued to the group of men on the ground before giving in to the sound of the alarm. He shrunk together, also closing his eyes shut. He sunk to the ground after the voice command them to do so. Seonghwa wasn't interested in what was going on. He just wanted it to end. He just wanted to eat peacefully.

But hearing the jailors, the loud footsteps, the blood, it didn't calm him down and when he was allowed to move again, to eat....

His appetite was gone.

Not just because his food was now scattered over the floor, he also was just to overwhelmed and wasn't sure what he should do. So he just sat on the floor, shaking violently.

Breakfast ended around 20 minutes later.

Hongjoong put his plate away and went to the door which led him to his cell again. The same two jailors waited right at the door to escort him and Seonghwa.  
Seonghwa met Hongjoong at the door, standing in front of the jailors.  
The younger one grabbed Seonghwa, firm but more gentle then before. The older one took Hongjoong by the forearm, tugging him along the halls again followed by Seonghwa.

The walk was quiet, tension still high but followed by a certain calmness Hongjoong couldn't explain.

All four arrived at the metal door.  
The older jailor opened it a little forcefully giving accesses to the cell.  
The sight from behind the door was such as surprisingly as horrifying. Hongjoong and Seonghwa froze as they saw their cell before both were pushed inside, door closing behind them.

It wasn't like both of them never saw so much blood before, maybe it wasn't even that much. But it stopped them in their tracks when both of them saw the same boy from the breakfast sitting on one of the beds, holding a towel to his nose. 

The fabric long since gone useless, soaked with the thick liquid till it dripped down his chin onto his slacks.  
Eyes filled with painful hot tears, rolling down his now wet cheeks with smudged blood covering half of his face. 

Silence filled the room.

Hongjoong and Seonghwa stared at the boy blankly, not knowing how to react to the stranger.

Hongjoong watched the blood drip from his chin, falling on the already wet pants.  
Seonghwa was the first one to snap out of his frozen state, shaking his head and rushing over to the boy.  
Eyes widened in worry.

Seonghwa didn't hesitate to lay one of his hands over the boys one which held the bloody fabric in place.  
The boy hissed in pain, flinched for a second before Seonghwa shushed him, trying to comfort him.  
Eyes shut, his face displayed pain and discomfort while Seonghwa pressed the boys hand onto his nose, squeezing it tightly.  
His other hand came around the boys nape guiding his head to fall forward while forming small comforting circles against the back of his head.  
Seonghwa lowered himself a little, giving himself better access to hold the boys head.

Everything went to fast for Hongjoong. It took him some seconds to get his head working again and go over to his fellow inmates. 

Hongjoong lowered himself till he knelt besides the boy, studying his in pain twisted face.  
"You shouldn't put so much pressure on that..." Hongjoong's concern reached Seonghwa's ears.  
"If I'm not gonna do it, it never gonna stop and I don't want to sleep in a total bloodbath!"  
Seonghwa snapped at him, eyebrows scrunched up in an annoyed way.  
"But let him at least breath!"  
Hongjoong reached out to the fabric earning another glare of Seonghwa.

"He shouldn't breath through his nose!"  
"But with your big ass hand...you're covering his whole mouth, you dumbass!" Hongjoong snapped back forcing Seonghwa's hand away. 

"Did you just called me dumbass, you midget?!"  
Hongjoong teared his eyes away from the boy, starring now into a pair of angry eyes.  
"What the fuck did you just called me?" Hongjoong demanded offended, gripping the towel tighter.  
"Are you deaf or something? I'm not gonna repeat myself for someone who didn't even told me his name!" Seonghwa spat annoyed, pressing the towel firmer against the boys nose making him squeeze his eyes tightly, tears running down his cheeks violently mixing itself with the blood.

"Says who! You didn't told me yourself!...Oh my god can you be more gentle! You gonna break his nose if you continue like that!"  
Hongjoong hand came up to grab Seonghwa's wrist, laying his hand over the boys one.  
The boy whimpered again, open his eyes in agony and looking at the both in front of him, eyeing them through his blurry vision. 

"Take your damn hand off of mine, midget..." Seonghwa narrowed his eyes farther, facing Hongjoong fully. 

"Call me that one more time and-"

"Can you both please stop that bullshit! I'm the one who's bleeding like shit!"

Hongjoong and Seonghwa were startled by the voice coming annoyed and desperate from the boy besides them.  
His voice high and child-like.

Both exchanged a glace, forgetting why they were fighting and giving the boy their full attention.  
"Usually a pack of ice would help against the bleeding but we have none...."  
Hongjoong thought about a way to release the pain from the boy while Seonghwa held the fabric gently against the nose.

"Can you at least breath properly? Do you need to throw up?" Seonghwa asked the boy quietly trying not to put more stress on him.

"Yeah I can breath, don't worry but my throat feels disgusting..." he replied.  
"If you think blood makes its way down your throat you should better spit it out"  
"Don't worry we gonna clean that up afterwards" Hongjoong replied earning the attention of both of them.  
And the boy obediently followed the request of Seonghwa, spitting on the floor, tainting it between his legs in a reddish colour.

Hongjoong stood up, walked over to the other bed, confused looks following him.  
He thought for a second before grabbing the thin, small blanket.

Seonghwa gave him a questioning look before he took the hint and stood up, careful not to hurt the boy.

Hongjoong rushed over, Seonghwa took away the bloody towel so Hongjoong could place the new white fabric against the nose. His small hands delicately wrapped around the nose, pressing gently.

"What's your name?" Hongjoong looked into his eyes while Seonghwa went to the sink trying to clean up the towel as good as possible.

"San" the boy replied locking eyes with Hongjoong.

Hongjoong nodded, inspecting San's face. Gently rubbing away the wet streaks of tears from his cheek, trying to clean it up from the blood.

Seonghwa in the meantime cleaned up most of the towels, dried it a little and went over to the others. Gently starting to clean up San's face along with Hongjoong's hand.

"How old are you, San?" Seonghwa demanded calmly, trying to distract him from the blood.  
"21" San replied quietly eyeing Seonghwa's face with teary eyes.

Seonghwa stopped wiping away the blood, looking at San in surprise before continuing his work.

"Well, you are a year younger then"  
"Wait you are 22?" Hongjoong looked at Seonghwa in disbelief. "Because I'm 22 as well."  
Annoyance build up in Seonghwa's face again "Why? Do I not look like 22?" He rolled his eyes.  
"Geez chill out angry bird..." Hongjoong looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"You-"

"Guys!" San cut Seonghwa off before both of them went into a fight again.  
The older ones turned towards San again, looking at him with worry.

Carefully Hongjoong took away the blanket from San's nose taking a closer look. It still bled but it slowly lessened.  
Hongjoong pressed the fabric back onto his nose letting San hold it.  
"It's not that bad anymore but you should leave it on for a little bit longer" he requested.

San only nodded.

Minutes went by.  
The tension so as the heavy smell of blood slowly faded away, leaving them breath the fresh salty air of the ocean. A cold shiver ran down their spine when the air hit their bare arms.

The bleeding stopped, leaving just a bloody mess around San's nose. Seonghwa tried to clean his face as best as he could, freeing his face from the red patches while Hongjoong had a hand on his back, stroking him for comfort.

San appreciated the kind gestures from his elders.  
After his encounter at breakfast he was indirectly seeking for attention and comfort. And he was glad he got both from two total strangers which seemed like they didn't really get along well.  
But he didn't care for the moment, letting Seonghwa rub on his face till everything was clean.

Meanwhile Hongjoong eyed San from beside, eyes fixed on the face of the younger one.

San looked indeed young.

Small, sharp dark brown eyes, between them a beautiful shaped nose. Red/pinkish small but full lips. His jawline broad and defined.  
Hongjoong also noticed every time when San winced in pain or scrunched up his face in discomfort, a pair of deep dimples appeared on the younger cheeks. He had high cheekbones which lay beneath a healthy toned skin.  
San's jet black hair was swept to the back giving Seonghwa the access he needed while he cleaned him up.  
His eyebrows dark and straight.

His figure, lean but still healthy giving him an innocent young look. Hongjoong already noticed that San was taller then him, not much taller but also still small enough so Seonghwa towered over both of them.

"So what's your name?" Hongjoong broke the silence looking in Seonghwa's direction who went to the sink again, cleaning up the blanket.

Seonghwa looked over his shoulder, locking eyes with Hongjoong, unsure to reply to his question.  
He let silence fall over them to a few minutes.

"Seonghwa" he replied finally letting his gaze stray away from Hongjoong.

Hongjoong straightened himself looking at Seonghwa if he hadn't expected a response. He blinked a few times in disbelief till he heard an amused snort besides him.

"Seonghwa? Really?....hm...what about Hwaseong? Or don't you like it Mars?"

San giggled besides Hongjoong earning an annoyed sigh from Seonghwa.

Hongjoong needed to hold back his laugh, holding his hand in front of his mouth.

"Oh you both think that's funny, hm?!" Seonghwa turned around to face both of them.  
"At least Mars sounds better then mountain!" He said with a slightly pouty face, his face slowly removing his hard, protective shield he had put on since they returned to the cell.

San stood up. "Take that back!" sounding offended but it was clearly in a playful way.

Hongjoong saw how San and Seonghwa held eye contact before both of them started giggling quietly. San louder then Seonghwa who turned around to hide his face.

"So that leaves just you now~" San turned to face towards Hongjoong. He looked up at San in confusion, pointing with a finger on himself.

"Yeah you, what's your name hyung?"

Hongjoong made a knowing face.  
"Hongjoong" he said with a little smile on his lips.

"Ahh so thank you for taking care of me hyung~"  
San bowed to both of them.  
"Hope we get along well for the time we gonna spend together~" he said cheerfully smiling brightly, his dimples dug deep their way into his cheeks.  
His eye smile beaming.

The tension finally left the cell completely leaving the three now in a calm, peaceful state.  
With San in the room the tension between Hongjoong and Seonghwa also left, calmed their souls and made them finally speak to each other. 

[So you see the key to connect two people is sometimes to just let another one enter their little space. In that case it was San who put the hearts of his elders at ease.]

After the arrival of Seonghwa this morning, San's encounter at breakfast, time went by quickly.

Hongjoong felt warm and at peace, feeling how his heart swell whenever San started talking to him, asking him about useless stuff, giggling around or laugh so loud Hongjoong thought he would die any second.

He didn't know he missed something so casual.  
Talking with another person, laughing about dumb things.  
And his mood rose on another level when Seonghwa joint them, finally showing his real self in front of them.

He didn't know that deep down in his heart he seeked for this so long.

After so long of being alone.  
The first time after all this time.  
He felt happy.

It was also the first time after months that Hongjoong didn't sat alone during lunch. Mostly because San just casually seated himself in front of him, dragging Seonghwa along with him.

Hongjoong thought that San's "affection" wasn't just because he liked him and Seonghwa, San literally clinging onto Seonghwa confirmed his theory that San still was kind of scared. And it was pleasant to see that Seonghwa didn't mind at all to have a small boy clinging to his arm while eating his blunt food.


	2. Chapter two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to upload something way earlier but due to exams stress I couldn't finish it.
> 
> I still hope you will enjoy the second part ♡

It was late afternoon, a few days after they met. The sun already started to sink from the sky.

Hongjoong stood on the field, breathing in the air which was swept over the high buildings surrounding the area.  
For a lot of inmates was the free time on the field a distraction from their miserable life inside the cells. Hongjoong on the other hand still felt trapped in a big cage. The buildings were so high that barely any sunlight touched the dirty grey floor, giving it a darker and colder atmosphere.  
He shivered slightly, letting coldness swallow him while leaning on the fence behind him. He let himself sink to the ground where San and Seonghwa already sat.

All three of them just met a few days ago but Hongjoong already felt a certain attachment towards them. Maybe it was because they would be hanging out together from now on and he may needed to get along with them. But maybe also because he felt sympathy towards them.

At first he thought Seonghwa was hard to deal with but it wasn't like that. They still were awkward towards each other but when it went to odd and weird San always jumped in and changed the topic for the better.

He thought they were nice guys, even if he didn't know why they were locked up in here.  
But he didn't want to asked about this topic, not because the fragile connection they had build in such a short period of time could vanish but also because he didn't care what brought them here.

Hongjoong sighed loud, crossing his arms over his chest.  
Seonghwa who sat besides him looked at him, curiosity shone on his face.

"What's wrong?" He asked Hongjoong quietly.  
"I don't know...it just sucks being here..." hongjoong closed his eyes, breathing in the cold air.

"How long have you been in here?" San questioning, leaning forward to look at Hongjoong better.

Hongjoong looked at him, resting his head against the fence.  
"I...I really don't know..." Hongjoong replied barely a whisper.  
"I don't even know why I'm here..." he looked down, folding his hands in his lap, fiddling with his fingers.

"I've been here for like..." San started counting his fingers. "4 months now" San finally said,turning his head towards Seonghwa.  
"And you hyung? How long?" He asked him calm but curious.  
"Well maybe...around two weeks? I really don't count the days but around that maybe."  
San nodded understandably seating himself again against the fence.

Silence fell over them.

"Where are you guys from anyways?"  
Hongjoong demanded cautiously, tilting his head to face the others.

"Gyeongnam in Jinju" Seonghwa said closing his eyes calmly.  
"Gyeongsan" San nodded slightly to himself, mind elsewhere.

"Thats pretty far away from here..." Hongjoong whispered.

"How can you say it's far away when you don't even know where the hell we are?" Seonghwa frowned deep.

"Well when I started sailing from Gyeonggi-do it was a pretty big distant I had to cross. When we went short with food and water...we stopped here but that wasn't the best idea we had..." Hongjoong paused, his heart suddenly felt empty.  
"The next moment they already had me locked up." Hongjoong stared at the sky, seeing it full with clouds.

"After all what I did for them....they left me behind..." it was barely a whisper, his voice swolloed by sadness.

"Which rank were you hyung?" San asked, looking around Seonghwa again, eyebrows rose in pity.

"Captain..." he looked at San. "They left me here because they said I wasn't good enough...they just took the ship when we tried to escape...But when I arrived at the shore,they were gone..."

San held the eye contact,feeling miserable sweeping over him.

"Well on my old ship I was the doctor..." Seonghwa cut in the silence "But it was so messy I needed to do anything..." he added, trying to ease the tension.

Hongjoong and San looked at Seonghwa in confusion.

"You were a doctor?"  
"Well...Yeah...I mean not the best but I could do more then the others. My former ship wasn't that equipped and it happend that a lot of people got sick. Sometimes I could treat them, sometimes I couldn't."  
Seonghwa sighed heavy.  
"My captain wasn't organized at all and we got into a lot of trouble because of him."

"So technically you were indirectly the quartermaster." San came to the conclusion.  
"I think you could say it like that." Seonghwa nodded at San's statement.

"Sounds like you know some stuff about the life on the sea." Hongjoong looked at San with surprised eyes, sadness vanishing from his face.

"Hm...Yeah I know some stuff but that's because I aided pirates a few times before and they let me stay on their ship."

"You aided?" Hongjoong rose his eyebrows, eyes grew wide.

"Yeah, but never really was a part of them. I just joint the ships that looked most appealing to me or the one in need of a helping hand. But I went to far at some point and they handed me over because I went a little to crazy."

"You went crazy? As if... you clung onto me during the first few days and now you wanna say you want crazy?..." Seonghwa looked at the younger one in disbelief. "Oh please, what had you done? Did you got into a little fist fight and hit him a little to hard?" Seonghwa snorted, giggling amused.

San started laughing along which made Hongjoong and Seonghwa stop immediately, looking startled at the younger one.

"It wasn't just a fist fight hyung. We all are here for a certain reason...am I right?" San looked at both, his face suddenly turned into something dark, challegning but also unreadable.

"I did what I had to do." He justified himself.

Hongjoong and Seonghwa felt a cold shiver creeping up their spines. Such a sudden change in nature, San giving up such an odd vibe made both if them gulp heavy and stare at their youngster.

All of a sudden San looked more mature then the time their first met.

The friendly smile was replaced with a small smirk, eyes narrowed in an intimidating way.

Hongjoong looked away, feeling uncomfortableby seeing San's intense stare.  
"It doesn't matter why you are here. I don't care what you both done to end up here...but we all need to get along because at the end we sitting in the same boat..." Hongjoong let out another sigh.

Sans expression softened again.  
"You are right...besides talking about those things kinda drags down the whole mood..." San leand back.

The silence which followed wasn't uncomfortable but not comfortable as well.  
All three of them stared into nothing, swollowed deep into their own thoughts.  
All of them with a desperate and sad expression painting their faces.

They thought about the past.

"Did you..." Seonghwa began to speak up in a whisper, not sure if he should say it.  
"Did you ever thought of breaking out?"

It was quiet.  
So quiet Seonghwa thought his fellow inmates didn't hear him. He looked down on his hands, fixing his eyes on his fingers.

"Well..." Hongjoong started thinking about what he could say. "I think everyone thinks about that but it's impossible..."

"Technically..." San joint the conversion. "Technically it isn't impossible." San looked at his elders with a mixture of despair and hope.

"Technically, is like maybe and maybe means mostly no. So you say it's impossible." Hongjoong gestured to San's words knowingly.

"Did you tried it before?" Seonghwa cuts in between, locking eyes with Hongjoong.  
Hongjoong looked at him with big eyes before shaking his head.

"No, I never tried it...I mean...I don't think it's possible..." his lips formed a thin line.

"But hyung...what do you have to lose? I mean you stuck in here for like...You don't even know and you don't wanna do anything against it?" San scrunched up his eyebrows in disbelief.

"It has nothing to do with that-"

"You didn't even tried and jump to conclusions just like that?" San's voice grew slightly louder.  
Hongjoong shook his head, looking at San as if he said something unbelievably dumb.

"Its nothing about jumping to conclusions here San...it's a prison....I saw enough people trying to break out but failed miserably and-"

"So you are scared." Seonghwa cuts him off, lips tightly pressed together.

Hongjoong clenched his jaw together before scoffing in annoyance. "Are you both trying to challenge me with a break out?"

"Yeah" San replied without even batting an eye.

"Pathetic..." Hongjoong let out a cold laugh, not believing what they were suggesting. "You both are insane."  
He turned his head away, tilting it the other way to look at the ground.

"Well I said I'm crazy..." San shrug his shoulders.

"If we really would do it...we need help from others..." Seonghwa broke into the tense air.

"And from whom? I can't believe you consider such idiocy!" Hongjoong shook his head. "You, the person who cried that one morning like an infant who didn't get the candy he wants,... considers a break out?" Hongjoong voice grew louder, eyebrows rising to his hairline.  
He really couldn't believe this foolish behaviour of them.

"Hey! That was just...because..."  
"Because what Seonghwa!?" Hongjoong snapped at him in pure annoyance, face scrunched up in confusion.

Seonghwa pressed his lips into a grim line, eyes narrowed angrily.

"But ..." San cuts in, earning their attention.  
"Aren't you missing the sea hyung? Aren't you missing breathing in the fresh air? Aren't you missing the feeling of...of just doing whatever you want?..."  
San looked at Hongjoong, eyes biting their way into his soul. San paused a few seconds, lips agap.  
"Aren't you missing the freedom?"

In that every moment Hongjoong saw the same expression he had whenever he looked outside the small window.  
But not on himself.  
No.  
San had this expression.  
Longing, sad and desperate for a relief to escape this nightmare.

Hongjoong looked away, thinking about what he could say, feeling the gazes of San and Seonghwa laying upon him.  
He swallowed thickly.

"I..." Hongjoong tried to find the right words. He looked at the cloudy sky, seeing a few birds fly over the prison before vanishing somewhere behind it.

Wasn't it Hongjoong's dream to break free?  
Wasn't it the thing he desired most?

Suddenly Hongjoong felt this little peace of hope swell inside of his heart, giving him a little bit of confidence.

He turned to San and Seonghwa which already thought they wouldn't get a proper answer. But when they both saw the confidence, the hope and determination swallowing Hongjoong's eyes, they already knew the answer.

"We gonna talk about that in the cell."  
______________________________________

Their free time ended a half an hour later.

It gotten late, the clock striked 11pm, but no one in the cell dared to sleep.  
They didn't noticed how time went by. First it was 5 pm when they entered the cell and now it was barely midnight.  
The discussion became pretty heated between the three and especially between Hongjoong and San.

Hongjoong scoffed furiously. "And you didn't think about that!"  
"How should I know how the prison is structured? I can't just walk around like an idiot and look at every corner like 'oh there is the damn exit'!" San snarled at him,gesturing sarcastically around. 

His innocence long since faded.

"Don't talk to me like that! I'm still your damn hyung! So respect me!" Hongjoong exchanged angry eyes with the younger one.  
Meanwhile Seonghwa gave up two hours ago and sat on one of the beds, his head in his hand, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"You may be my hyung but that doesn't mean anything!"

"You really going on my nerves you brat! You talked about breaking out but all yo know it the way from the Cafeteria to the cells...what did you plan? Just walk out, saying hey to the staff and expect them to let us go?...unbelievable how dumb you are!" Hongjoong spat at San.

"Don't call me dumb!" San stormed over to Hongjoong ready to grab him but Seonghwa went inbetween.

"That's enough for now. You both need to calm down..."  
Seonghwa guided both of them away from each other. "You both just argue and it's not leading to anything anymore. It's annoying and you're not coming to any result like that... go to sleep and we can figure it out tomorrow..."  
Seonghwa sighed loud, rubbing his eyes roughly.  
"San-ssi take the bed and be quiet for now..." he commend the younger, earning a huff but San did as he was told.

Hongjoong and San exhaustion was very noticeable, both looked tired from all the talking and arguing. Seonghwa wanted them to find some rest and to be honest he wanted some sleep as well.

Hongjoong let himself sunk in his bed, taking a deep long breath before closing his eyes, already feeling sleep washing over him.  
Seonghwa settled himself on the ground, offered the bed to San.  
Seonghwa was finally in peace when Hongjoong and San stopped arguing and finally became quiet after a few minutes. 

After around 10 minutes Seonghwa felt sleep taking over his sore body.

It was quiet, the calm breathings of the three filled the dark room. The moonlight which shone through the small window danced over their faces, lighten up the room a little. It was cold but the gentle sounds of the ocean made their hearts warm, feeling longing after the outside world. 

Sleep took over even more, eyelids heavy when suddenly something woke them up. It wasn't the sound of the ocean, nore was it the snore of themselves. From outside the cell came a similar alarm like the one at eating times. 

San and Seonghwa sat up in a rush, eyes flew wide by the sudden noise. Meanwhile Hongjoong layed on his bed, eyes closed as if he heard nothing. 

"Bloody hell! What the fuck is this?!" Seonghwa whispered startled with a slightly terrified voice.

"I don't know hyung....maybe-"

"That happens once in a while when someone get caught breaking out." Hongjoong sounded groggy. Both San and Seonghwa nodded silently, letting the information dig its way into their brains.

"But at this time?...I mean we barely reached midnight..." San had a deep frown on his face, imagining how dumb people can be to try a break out this early.

"There are always idiots out there who take to many risks..." Hongjoong rubbed his face, slightly pinching his nose afterwards.

"The problem..." he started. "I can imagine who tried it again..." he sighed loud, maybe a little annoyed from the lack of sleep he would get now.

"Wait you know other inmates? I thought you were all alone." Hongjoong rolled his eyes, propping himself on his elbows, glaring at San. "It wasn't like that all the fucking time..." he paused, wetting his lips.  
"I met them during lunch. They were decent people. Younger then me. At first I thought they weren't that clever but when time passed..." He let his gaze fall onto the the door, trying to collect the right words but when he was about to speak, Seonghwa interrupted him.

"How clever are they?" he asked Hongjoong with curiosity, breath stuck in his throat.

"Well let's say it like that... we discussed a break out the last few hours and didn't came to any result..." he paused again.  
"They actually could create a plan in less than the time we spent and it would totally work out perfectly." He pressed his lips together, eyes narrowed while thinking about these two.

"But when they are the people who try to break out now... and they got caught... it can't be a perfect plan..." San looked at Hongjoong in total disbelief. The other one huffed, a smile forming on his face.

"I'm truly honest their plans are perfect but both of them are just to loud or to clumsy."

"So they are dumb." San tried to understand.

"No they aren't, just... just..."

"Dumb?"

Hongjoong looked at San, seeing just his silhouette in the moonlight. "You so bratty today, you know that?"

The alarm went off, leaving the cell in silence.

"Well hyung," San shrugged his shoulders "Being obedient isn't my thing... you should deal with it."

Hongjoong rolled his eyes intensely, about to get up and go over to him but he was taking aback. The door slammed open, brighten up the inside. All three winced, protecting their eyes from the light.

"What the fuck!" Seonghwa yelled suddenly, feeling how he was crushed under a heavy weight. He tried to free himself, feeling the soft warm skin above him.

Hongjoong and San just had enough time to catch a glimpse of two tall bodies stumbling to the ground, landing harsh onto Seonghwa's body. Seconds later the door was shut again, leaving the three with the intruders alone. Both of them groaned in discomfort, trying to retreat from their position.

"Get the fuck off of me!" Seonghwa said seemingly annoyed and pissed. "Ahh, I'm sorry.." a troubled voice rang through the darkness. "Oi, Mingi-yah get off me!" the voice commanded.

"Ah, give me a second..." a deep voice shot through the darkness. "Wait I..."

"AUH, that's my leg!" 

"No, it's my leg! Now get off!" Seonghwa spat angry.

"Ah yeah yeah!..." the deep voice said again, finally releasing his weight from Seonghwa and his friend.

Seconds later Seonghwa was released, taking a deep breath while rubbing his chest to ease the pain.

"I'm really sorry..." the first voice said breathy, sounding exhausted. "We just had some complications and-"

"Don't say we had complications!" the deep voice yelled offended. "You don't know them and the first thing you say is we failed!"

"I didn't say we failed you idiot!"

"Don't call me that I-"

"You both are just so incredibly dumb..." Hongjoong cuts off the deep voice which seems like it belonged to Mingi. 

"Oh now you call them dumb hm?" San pouted.

"San!" Hongjoong snapped.

"Yah, Joongie hyung! How have you been?"

"Don't call me like that Mingi-ssi." Mingi replied by sucking in his breath dramatically. "But you always let me call you that!"

"Wait you talked about us hyung?" the foreign voice asked surprised.

"I just mentioned you both Yunho-ssi...so calm down..." Hongjoong rubbed his tampels. "Did you really tried another break out?" he demanded tired.

"Well... yeah..." Mingi said deadpanned. 

"But the new one... you know that young little shit...we didn't saw him coming." Yunho giggled as is it was the most neutral thing ever.  
"Next time we plan him in." he added, letting himself flop onto Hongjoong's bed.

"Who allowed you-"

"It looked so hilarious how he tackled Mingi-yah to the ground" Yunho cut Hongjoong complain off, still giggling amused.  
"Eh don't mention that!" Mingi pouted at him through the darkness.

But Yunho went on.

"I would had started laughing my ass off then and there how Mingi-yah fell like he had no weight at all."

"Says who?! You weren't better at all! Yelling like a drama queen just because that one guy came running after you!" Mingi's wild gestures could be heard in the darkness. "You even pushed me!" he added.

Yunho huffed. " You dumbass tripped over your own feet!" 

"No, I didn't do-"

"Oh my god, can you both shut up!" Seonghwa rubbed his temples in pure annoyance. "We were about to go to sleep and I would be glad if you shut your damn mouths, get yourself a place and fucking sleep."

The room fell silent.

"Hyung calm do-"

"San, I gave you the bed so do me the favour and shut up!" he snapped at him angry.

"Geez...Joongie hyung, where did you pick up that grumpy cat?"

"Don't fucking call me that!" Hongjoong and Seonghwa spat in union.  
"Just...just go to sleep or I'll put both of you to sleep myself..." Seonghwa whispered dangerously low in his throat.

Yunho and Mingi were quiet for a few seconds.  
"Well...you could be a little nicer..." Mingi complained with a pout.  
The silence was thick and within seconds the sound of somebody standing up was heard.  
Clearly close to lash out.

Mingi backed away by the sound. "Easy, easy....we gonna go to sleep don't worry." Mingi retreated himself, settling himself down in one of the corners.

Seonghwa let out an exhausted and tired sigh, lowering himself on the ground again.

"Yunho-yah come here~"

Yunho made a hurling sound "I rather be dead!"  
"Oh last night you said something else~"  
"I didn't say anything..." Yunho let himself fall on the bed, squeezing Hongjoong between his massive body and the wall. 

"You better move your-"

"Hyung you heard him we should sleep so deal with it." 

"Or come here~"

"Just go to sleep Mingi-yah before you are dead meat." Yunho closed his eyes already drifting off a little.

"You should move before you are dead meat yourself!"

"OW hyung you-"

Seonghwa cleared his throat loud.

Yunho sighed heavily "Ok then...good night."

And with that the room was filled with silence once again.  
After a while the sound of soft snoring could be heard even if some of them couldn't really sleep anymore.  
Nobody really dared to speak or move a lot...to be honest nobody actually wanted to wake up Seonghwa who sounds asleep.  
______________________________________

The morning began to bloom and the inside of the cell lit up letting warmth dance across their faces.  
Their minds still somewhere far away, sleeping peacefully while huddling together...

Well at least Yunho and Hongjoong did.

Somehow Yunho ended up draping over Hongjoong's small frame, having him not just squeezed against the wall but also trapped beneath him.  
Drool ran down his cheek, dropping loose onto Hongjoong's shirt.

San sounded asleep, snuggling deep into the hard mattress, hugging the blood stained blanket while purring softly into the material.

Seonghwa layed half beneath the bed San currently layed on like he would search for a place to hide. His chest slowly rose, face lax, hands folded gently on his chest.

Everyone had their space.

Meanwhile Mingi suddenly layed right next to the bed San was purring and rubbing his cheek against the rough material, grabbing one of Seonghwa's leg to snuggle and wrap his arms around it.

The corner he choosed to sleep before long since gone cold.  
Rejected through the loneliness, seeking for company from one of the others.

Even if it's just a leg from a stranger who might kill him as soon he wakes up.

The first one who dared to make a sound was of cause Hongjoong.  
He cough a few times trying to fill his lungs with more air but it was hard.  
He slowly opened his eyes, groaning by the heavy weight on himself, feeling how his body was trapped.

He tried to move, lazingly wiggle his way out but the body on him didn't budge.  
He sighed breathless, sleep drunk and a little bit annoyed.  
"Yunho-ssi move your...heavy ass..."  
Hongjoong voice came out hoarse and deep  
"Yunho-ssi..." Hongjoong hit him on the back with his free hand.

Yunho shuffled around crushing Hongjoong, a painful groan escaped his lips.  
"Yunho-"  
"Shhh hyung the others are sleeping..." Yunho said with a pout, still half asleep.  
"I swear move your ass or you gonna regret it..."  
"Hmmm...five more minutes..." Yunho mumbled hiding his face in Hongjoong's shirt.  
"You...fine.." Hongjoong said in defeat, letting his hand fall from the back and let it loosely hang from the bed.

Hongjoong huffed, still trying to breath properly.

If Hongjoong ever needed to describe both Yunho and Mingi he would straight up call them dumb at first.  
Maybe even mischief masters even if they looked quite innocent.

But he would withdraw this statement of them being dumb.  
Because they really weren't.

Even thought Yunho looked like an oversized puppy with his trousled brown hair and his big round eyes which were still closed, he truly didn't behave like one. Yunho was the cheekiest one of them, always found a way to tease others and talk back with no resepect whatsoever.  
It made people get really annoyed with him sometimes but if Hongjoong ever needed to admit...Yunho was quite a nice guy, along with Mingi.

Yunho also had a pair of puffy cheeks and Hongjoong also needed to admit he thought about pinching them at least once. He had a tall build, maybe a head taller then himself with broad shoulders.

Meanwhile Mingi who clung tightly Seonghwa's leg was lanky and tall. His face sharp with small but friendly eyes. His hair a dark brown, lighten up by the sunrays.  
Mingi's nose was long and pointy similar to his own one.

Hongjoong thought he looked like a baby while sleeping so quietly next to Seonghwa, also still sleeping figure.

He wasn't as tall as Yunho but he was tall enough to even surpass Seonghwa with some inches.

Hongjoong sighed quietly, letting his gaze fall onto the small window, seeing how the sunrays rain inside.

He let his mind wander, battling with himself.  
>Should we really try it?...but...what if we fail?...Will my sentence be doubled?...but what would that change? What should I do when we succeed?...<

Hongjoong's breath suddenly stuck in his throat, feeling like a knot stuck deep in it.  
>What if...I'm gonna be alone again...<

His heart felt heavy all of a sudden, coldness spread into his limbs.  
The body on him suddenly heavier then before.

>I have no crew anymore...neiter do I have a ship...<

Worry smeared across his face, making his heart beat faster by the thought.  
He let out a heavy sighed once again.

"Can you please stop being so scared?"

Hongjoong sucked in his breath, snapping his head to the other bed, looking over Yunho's shoulder.

"Who said I'm scared?" Hongjoong demanded, eyebrows scrunched together.

"I can smell it" San's voice rang through the air.  
And oddly his statement hit Hongjoong right into his guts.

Hongjoong rolled his eyes, trying to overplay his current thought "Oh please..."

San turned around in the bed, facing Hongjoong with messy hair, droopy eyes and still hugging the blanket tightly.

"Your heavy sigh tells everything hyung..." he blinked lazyingly " what is bothering you?"

Hongjoong looked away, thinking about what to say while starring at the ceiling.

"What's bothering you hyung?"  
San asked still sleepy but prompting.

"It's not like...I don't want to try it...but..."  
He paused.  
"What do we expect to happend after we made it?.."

"More like what do you expect after breaking out hyung?"  
San turned to lay on his back.  
"I..for sure...will do my work again... try to survive...being lazy somewhere far away..." he closed his eyes. A small smile painted itself on his face.

"But what do you want to do?"

"I want to..." Hongjoong started, the body on top of him slightly shifts.  
"I know I don't want to stay here..." San lets out a gentle and warm laugh. "I think that would be the dumbest idea ever."

Hongjoong couldn't repress the little smile forming on his face before returning to a thin line.  
"I...really want to sail again...like really far away..."

San hums, nodding in agreement.

"But....I can't do it alone...I mean sure but I think I would go insane..."

"If you pay me...I can join you on your first little trip till we would arrive at the next coast"  
San looked at Hongjoong, his eyebrows raised high. "Or am I not good enough for you hyung?"

"I never said that in the first place but-"  
"If you gonna pay him then let me join..." Hongjoong suddenly felt hot breath right next to his ear. 

"Where you awake the whole damn time?..."  
"Well...kinda I just didn't want to interrupt you sentimental moment..."

Hongjoong's eye twitched and in the next moment Yunho layed on the ground, groaning unsatisfied.  
"Why didn't you just said something hyung..." 

"I said something barely five minutes ago, you jerk!" Hongjoong sat up, his hair flat on one side while looking down on Yunho.

"I'm serious...if you pay him I'd love to tag along to snatch some money from you~" Yunho looked at him with a shit eating grin.

Hongjoong huffed annoyed "Nobody said I'm gonna pay one of you...I didn't even have money myself!"

"How sad for the midget..."  
"You really gonna join that shit? Go back to sleep!" Hongjoong spat still annoyed, rubbing the sleepiness out of his eyes.

"Well it's really hard if there dumb people are talking the whole time.." Seonghwa replied groggy, still laying quietly beneath the bed, his eyes closed.

Hongjoong rolled his eyes.

"But Seonghwa hyung, you need to admit if he would pay us you wouldn't say no to it." San bend over the edge of the bed, looking beneath it into Seonghwa's face.

"Oh so the one being all grumpy yesterday is called Seonghwa hm?~"

Seonghwa scrunched up his face when he heard his name leaving Yunho's mouth.  
"I wouldn't had been that grumpy if you both just been quiet and not been so annoying..."  
Seonghwa sighed tired.

"I'm sorry for disturbing your beauty sleep my highness then~"  
Yunho started giggling, San joint right after.  
Seonghwa finally opened his eyes facing Yunho sleepy but warning.  
"You shouldn't walk on thin ice like that..." Seonghwa huffed, his eyes narrowed.  
"And if your big ass stuck in here now...get used to it and call me hyung you giant idiot..."  
He closed his eyes again, turning his head away, facing San who still looked down on him.  
"And you brat shouldn't stare me down like that..."

"Ahh so you older then me hm? How old?~" Yunho asked curious.  
"He's as old as me...don't worry I can't believe if myself..."

"Wait he looks way older!"  
Yunho looked up at Hongjoong, eyes blown wide.

"Excuse me you-" 

"Well he behaves not even older more like he cries like a little baby..."

"Hongjoong sto-"

"He also tries to play hard but in the next moment is all whiny and sad." Hongjoong rolled his eyes.

"Emotional mess?"

"Emontial mess."Hongjoong nodded agreeing on Yunho's statement.

"I'm not an emotional mess you dickheads!" Seonghwa spat, tearing his eyes open and jumping up before he hit his head on the edge of the bed.  
He yowled, gripping his head tightly.

The other three couldn't hold it in and bursted out in a hyper laugh.

"You all have no decency!" Seonghwa looked at them angry "And you get off my my damn leg you monkey!"  
He ripped his leg from Mingi's grip, making the latter yelp and look at him with wide, shocked and sleep drunk eyes.

Seonghwa glared at Mingi's curled up figure , the latter just blinked at him in confusion before he jumped up just to hit his head as well.  
He winced in pain, ignoring the laughs of the others.

"Good morning Mingi-yah~" Yunho sang in a lovely, warm voice.  
"Good morning~" Mingi replied, putting a little distance between Seonghwa and himself. He sat besides the bed, legs crossed and looking a little bit lost.

He looked around while the laughs died down in soft giggles.

"Where are we?" He asked, his voice dropping a few octaves.

"Oh my god and you say they are the smartest people you know?...stop lying around!" Seonghwa snapped still upset about them.

"Oh hyung you call us smart? How sweet of you~"  
"Don't be such a flirt again Yunho-ssi"  
"Ow joongie hyung you think I'm flirting with you? You can't deny you like it~"  
"Stop calling me that you dick..."  
"Ow but why? I know you secretly like it...joongie-"  
Yunho got smacked with a pillow.

"I said stop calling me like that!"  
"So mean!"

"It's still early so why don't you guys just shut up and take a nap."  
"Hyung you are such a sleepy head." San said, looking down on Seonghwa again. 

"What do you think I should do? You guys were so annoying last night I was so close to choke you all..."

"As if you have the balls to do so." Hongjoong smirked, raising one of his eyebrows.  
"Don't challenge me Kim..."

San opened his eyes wide, looking shocked but also excited.

"Challenge you? I didn't say it's a challenge. It's a fact....Park."

San and Yunho looked at both of them, looking quite innocent and waiting for one of them to snap at the other.

"Well I don't mind having a power nap." Mingi yawned, his voice still raspy from sleep.

"Power nap?" Hongjoong shook his head "you didn't even get up and now you say you need a power nap?" 

"I don't need to move to deserve a power nap hyung..."

"Well he isn't wrong hyung~"  
San threw in.

"Do you guys even know the definition of power nap? It's-"

"Midget. Shut. Up." Seonghwa raised his voice, already falling back into sleep.

"Don't fucking call me that Mars..."  
"Then shut up and rest a little before we need to go out for breakfast..."  
Hongjoong huffed but admitting that it wasn't a bad idea to do so.  
He layed back on the bed "But just because I want to!"  
"Yeah yeah sure..." 

"But....I can't sleep after I already woke up..."  
"Then just be quiet San-ssi..."  
"Well me neither~"  
"Yunho-ssi..." Seonghwa said warningly.

"Don't worry hyung we will talk really quietly~" Yunho whispered loudly.

And indeed it went quiet after that...even if not long but Hongjoong, Seonghwa and Mingi could find some time to sleep before they really needed to get up for breakfast.  
______________________________________

Hongjoong took a bite of his food, chewing it until he swallowed it down. His throat tightens by the constistancy, shutting down the way and giving him the signal to spit it out again before his throat gave in when he downs a little of the milky water.

He looked up just to see how Yunho eagerly swallowed his food as if it was something beyond disgusting.

"How can you eat it just like that?" Hongjoong gave Yunho a disgusted look.  
"Well hyung..." Yunho began, speaking with a full mouth.  
"It's all about imagination~"

"If I'm gonna start imagine...the food would look even worst..." Seonghwa confessed, nose crunched up in disgust while stabbing around in his mushy food. 

"Well then, you don't have a vivid imagination."  
"Well then, you are just a dumb dreamer." Seonghwa said indifferent, chewing on his food.  
"Well I don't want to be your brain then."  
"I don't want to be your brain either."  
"At least my brain planned a break out."  
"Which certainly failed."  
"Hey listen up you little bitch..." Yunho said suddenly, obvious annoyed from his back and forth with Seonghwa.

"At least we tried it while your ass sits there like a damn coward."  
"Excuse me... you still speak to your elder..."  
Seonghwa faced the taller boy, eyes narrowed.  
"You might are but who gave you the right to insult me like that?"

"I didn't insult you. You-"  
"We were talking about the same thing last night before you both came in." San threw in, earning a slap on the back of his head from Hongjoong.  
"Don't talk that loud you prick!"  
Hongjoong whispered loud.  
San rubbed his head, looking apologizing at Hongjoong.

Mingi looked up from his plate, tilting his head in confusion.  
"You did?...And what was the outcome?"  
He munched on his food lazyingly.

"Well...." Hongjoong looked at him "We didn't really came to a result."  
"Mostly because both of you were about to rip each other's throats out..."  
"Can we just stop talking about this? It won't work anyways..."  
"Oh so you seriously give up hyung?!'  
San raised his voice a little bit to high, drawing attention from a few other inmates.

Hongjoong sighed heavily, placing his spoon on the table and rubbing his temples.  
"San-ssi you don't get it right? We discussed this shit hours long last night...And you see we still don't have anything." He rubbed his face, seemingly still to tired too have this kind of conversation.

The table went quiet for a while till Yunho opened his mouth.  
"But you have us now."  
Hongjoong looked up, eyes red from rubbing.  
"I mean...I know you don't trust us...you never did..."  
"Neither at the beginning."  
"Yeah Mingi...But I think we all want to do the same thing..."

Yunho raised his eyebrows at his elder, a sly grin painted over his face.  
"We have the brain...And I know you have the strength to fight for your freedom..."

There was a beat.  
Again.  
A silence battle in his own head while Hongjoong stared into the face of the taller one.

"What's your desicion Kim?"  
Yunho looked at him intensely.  
"Will you join us?"


End file.
